Knitting Pharm

Ridiculous baby girl cuteness, part deux

I finished Monica #2 at KOL last night.  She's not blocked, but Laurel was very excited to wear her today.

 

  

I have a few odds and ends on the needles, as well as Plunge pair 19.  Will post more in the coming days.  TTFN!

Monica: the verdict is in!

Click on thumbnails for larger photos.

 

  

I don't know where she gets her flair for the dramatic.  (Shut up, husband.)

Cotton Crack and other addictive substances

I blame Laurie.  She told me she was making Monica for her giggle bug, and I just had to give it a try.

Today I ventured to the city for a university event, and I just had to go to Tangled Skeins.  You see, Stephanie, enabler extraordinaire, had given the heads-up on Sheryl's anniversary sale:  20% off all in-stock yarn.  And she carries Cotton Fleece.

See how this is all coming together?

For homework last night, I worked the ruffles for 2 Monicas, one for each daughter.  I used what may finally be the end of my endless stash of Knitpicks Main Line in Blueberry, with plans to get the body colours at Tangled Skeins today.

Amy's will be Pink-a-boo.

And Laurel's will be Prairie Lupine.

The stuff is surprisingly squishy, pleasant and just plain addictive to work with.  I may have a new yarn problem.

Other purchases, you say?

Trekking ProNatura (75% wool, 25% bamboo) 1601:

And some Artyarns Ultramerino 4 that I just couldn't leave behind at the store.

 

 

Still plunging away, although these other projects are getting in the way.  I think I'm behind on sharing my pairs, but here's #16, and the remainder can be found on my progress page, linked from the sidebar.

Back to my Cotton Crack!

Lessons in Blocking

Last week, on a very special Blossom, our heroine learned the value of meticulously pinning out her work.

She may have learned that lesson a bit too well.

*cue music*

May I stop the third-person speak now?

I unpinned the beast to find that I had unwittingly pinned some odd-shaped lines into my work.

The markings show where I pinned out too severely, creating a flared edge at the shoulders and along the top edge of the sleeves.  The result was a winged look.

Never fear, re-blocking is here!

I dampened the shoulders to relax the problem spots, and laid it (but did not pin it) back out to dry.  I am quite pleased with the final result.  I will get a photo once the shoulders have completely dried.

Overall, huge thumbs-up for this project.  My issue with the fit and appearance have less to do with the sweater itself and more to do with how I feel I look in it.  I tried some new techniques, I fell in love with the colours, and I have a nice summer sweater to show for it.

Back to socks.  Lots of socks.

Back to socks. I'm back, baby!

A week was all it took to bring me back to socks.  That week happened to be incredibly productive, as I squeaked out a fingering-weight sweater and did my first real blocking.

I started with the Isabella pattern, with the lace panel all the way up the front.  I then added a short-row cap sleeve knitted directly onto the piece, which happens to be the most brilliant technique ever.

Lots of tweaks to the pattern, as always.  Instead of casting off for the armhole shapings, I worked short (w&t) rows and put the stitches on holders.  Why cast off what will be picked up later?  I did the same for the shoulders, keeping the stitches for grafting, rather than casting off and then sewing up.  I added a ton of length to accommodate my freakishly long torso.

Here she is, pre-block:

And just to prove that bunching her up for a bath wasn't going to break my heart (baby steps, people!), I rolled her in a ball to show off her colours.

then sent her for a soak while I went out for foam tiles and pins.

Pinned her out all nice and pretty.  Note the waist shaping and the way the lace pattern creates a ripple at the bottom hem.  The pooling, of course, changed when I went from the round to back and forth, but I like it that way.  On the back, this created thick stripes of red and yellow right along the centre.

And any doubt I'd had about starting the lace pattern at the bottom evaporated when I saw it all pinned out.  Lace blocking, you are a fairy godmother indeed!

(I added a purl on either side of the lace panel for a bit of extra "pop".  If you like this, you may wish to do the same thing.)

I cast on Plunge pair #14, Cookie A.'s Flicker.  Gorgeous and fun pattern, although I'm a bit bored with the Sage Green Louet Gems from recently working with it.  I may have to leave sock #1 an orphan and explore some other colours in my stash.  Photos to follow.

Another project this week was haircuts and portraits for the little ladies.  Results are here if you wish to see them.  I am ridiculously proud.

Hope this weekend is fun for all!

Sick of Socks

It sometimes happens.  I do too many socks.  I need a break.

My Plunge stats thus far are great.  I completed 13 pairs in the first 6 weeks, all started on or after April 1st, all adult sized, all in fingering weight and needle size 3mm or smaller.  That's 25% of the Plunge under my belt.

Pair #11 is done.  Silkie Socks That Rock.  They've started dyeing this in their other colourways now, and the same semisolids that interested me in the original sock yarns are haunting me now in the Silkie.

Pair #12 is done.  My Austermann Step stash has officially been depleted.  I am officially relieved.

Pair #13 is done.  I need a break from Cherry Tree Hill, which is a bit "sticky" and slow to knit.  It does, however, offer the best stitch definition I've ever seen.

Rebellion has taken the form of non-sock knitting, namely bags.

Amy claimed the French Market Bag directly from its felting bag.

And I'm about ready to declare my felted backpack obsession a disease.  But a fun one.

(Patons Classic in Good Earth and Leaf Green)

I've finally unearthed the large hank of Fleece Artist from the Great Gaspereau Caper.  It's going to be a modified Isabella (no eyelets, and with the front lace panel going all the way up from the bottom edge).  I'm going to attempt to add a knit from the top cap sleeve in the coordinating red semisolid.  Photos to follow.

So it's project monogamy for me until my sweater is done or until I crave sock knitting again, whichever comes first.  Any bets?

Week in New England

As crazy as it sounds, some of my fondest memories are of car trips we've taken with the wee ones.  We load up the van, head for the border and basically enjoy an anonymous and quiet existence.  Outlet shopping, trashy chain dining, daily ice cream, far too much coffee, swimming and early bedtimes are our vices of choice.

Last year's trip was a biggie, all the way to southern Ontario to visit my sister and her family.  This time we cut it somewhat shorter, with a 4-day journey to North Conway (NH), Freeport (ME) and all points between.

Hub was in a terrifically generous mood, and took me to several yarns shops, despite how very off the beaten path they were.  Thanks to Pauline in CA for recommending the shoppes she did.  Cindy, I left before I could get your recs, so I'll have to give them a try next year!

Central Yarns in Portland was our first stop.  40% off the whole place and, no, she's not closing out, simply making room for more stuff.  The owner was gracious and lovely, despite the fact that I was running around her shop like a lunatic, confirming that everything meant books, notions, well, everything.  She even posed for a photo with me, which I accidentally deleted from my camera.  The haul?  3 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock (burgundy, navy and dusk).  Yes, that's it.

Halcyon Yarns was an insane experience.  I'd never been to a yarn warehouse before, and the floor-to-(very high)-ceiling shelves were dizzying.  I snapped photos until my camera's battery gave out on me.

Lookie the Lamb's Pride worsted weight:

and the Cotton Fleece:

 

Little wall full of Noro...

and one more wall full for good measure.

 

An irresistible way to display the array of shades.

And even I, an avowed non-spinner, could appreciate the beauty of the fibre area, including a vibrant purple merino/tencel that made me want to drop everything and buy a wheel.

 

Purchased?  A copy of Charlene Schurch's More Sensational Socks.  Yum.

Last of the shoppes was Grace Robinson in Freeport.  No purchases, but I greatly enjoyed browsing their massive selection of Rowan.

Overall, I'd say the sock bug hasn't hit Maine at all, which is why my purchases were so controlled.  Beautiful selection of sweater yarns, but I'm not in a sweater place right now.

Road knitting was very fruitful.  Photos here for now.

Plunge pair #10 is done.  Self-striping Online.

Pair #11 is done, the Rockin' Sock Club selection for April.  Silkie STR is the YUM!

Pair #12 is done, Austermann Step in greens.

Pair #13 is half done, one of the More SKS patterns in my Cherry Tree Hill.

Outlet shopping was even more fruitful.

This LL Bean leather shoulder bag for $45.  Not the listed retail of $129.  Not the $90 tag spotted in a different outlet.  Forty five dollars.  No tax.

Purchased in New Hampshire.  Between the great value of our dollar and their lack of sales tax, shopping there is equivalent to shopping at par!

The best part?  BOOTS!

Size 11, stretchy and fit great.  Regular price $80, on an 80% off table.  Take an additional 40% off with the discount card from the hotel.  Yep, that makes 20 bucks.  For BOTH pairs!

Since returning, I have dealt with my mountain of laundry and finished my French Market Bag.  I cast on one more backpack with the Classic Wool I got on major sale at AC Moore.  (Oh, did I not mention that?)

Enjoy the dwindling weekend.  I'll be buried in yarn, just the way I like it.

April's Toe-to-toe

Not much in the way of a head-to-toe for April, as I was firmly entrenched in the Plunge, but here's a summary of the socks and socks I worked over the course of the month.

• "Millie" (shortened Millicent) in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock
• Plain stockinette in Fleece Artist Sea Wool
• Monkey in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock
• Thelonius in Louet Gems
• Socks for Summer Knitty re-shoot
• Regia self-striping (major stash bust!)
• Socks for potential fall submission
• Opal Petticoat socks
• Opal socks for Lavinia

I have some pairs started in April that will be on May's head-to toe.

In not socks, I worked a felted backpack for one of Amy's buddies.  I also plied together some Opal sock yarns with my drop spindle.

Still on the needles is my French Market Bag, which is being worked in odds and ends as I find them.

Real-time post to follow, including adventures in New England, yarn and otherwise.